Playing with Matches
by TitansRule
Summary: Jess has several things to contemplate: did her vic come from outer space? How best to deal with a guilt-ridden Danny? And can you really describe Don Flack as 'cute? Story #37 in my 'Kindred Spirits' series.


**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY. Or **_**Rent**_**.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits'.  
****Spoilers: **_**Playing With Matches**_**; **_**Child's Play. **_**Everything in bold comes directly from the episode.**

* * *

Playing With Matches

Jess was used to getting calls from FDNY. Unfortunately, it wasn't unusual for the department to realise the fire had been used to cover up a murder and Jess had a little more … tact and decorum when dealing with the other department – in other words, she didn't fight jurisdiction or act like their job was less important than hers.

But this call was unlike anything she'd seen before.

"No Detective Bonasera tonight then?" One of the men asked.

Jess laughed. "Sorry, Walsh. It's Stella's night off." She, along with most of his colleagues and hers, knew that Brandon Walsh had a certain amount of admiration for the CSI. "What happened?"

The explanation she got was a little fuzzy, but that was understandable given the circumstances, and she let them go, returning to Danny and Mac, who were photographing the charred body on the ground. "**Fire department was en route to a structure fire on 49th when this thing …**"

"**Thing?**" Danny interrupted.

Jess sighed wearily. "**That's what they called it. Came flying at them like some flaming meteorite; slammed right into the windshield.**"

"**Fire came to the firemen.**" Danny commented. "**That's gotta be a first.**"

Jess looked at him carefully. There were no outward signs that Danny was upset or depressed in any way, but his predictable comment was devoid of its usual humour and lightness. Now wasn't the time though. "Got some unis searching the area, nearby buildings." She shrugged. "**As of yet, no idea where he came from.**"

Mac put his camera down and prodded the body. "**Multiple punctures. All consistent with this metal object. Could be our COD.**"

Danny was searching ground nearby. A few feet away, he knelt down and picked something up. "**Everything looks charred except for this. Flame didn't touch it.**" He pulled out a hand-held scanner that Jess recognised as an instrument for determining the elemental make-up of evidence. "**Coming up as silica.**"

Jess looked at Mac in the hope that he might elaborate.

"**Probably ceramic.**" Mac concluded. "**Heat-resistant, like the tiles they use on the space shuttle.**" He lifted the victim's hand and frowned. "L**ooks like something's melted into his glove.**"

Jess knelt down next to him to get a better look. "**It's some kind of patch.**" She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the image. "**A space capsule.**"

"**Mercury 3.**" Mac read. "**Shepard.**"

"**As in Alan Shepard?**" Danny asked incredulously. "**The astronaut?**"

Jess raised an eyebrow, involuntarily glancing up at the inky blanket covering the city. "**Our witnesses did say our vic came out of nowhere.**"

Mac followed her gaze. "**Houston, we have a problem.**" He straightened up. "I'm gonna call Lindsay in; we've got a big crime scene."

"Mac, she was on a long shift yesterday." Danny reminded him. "She's exhausted."

"She's also on call, Danny." Mac pointed out. "Stella and Hawkes aren't. Lindsay's the only one I can call in and we need the help."

As Danny nodded and Mac moved away, Jess straightened as well. "You okay, Danny?"

"Yeah." Danny mumbled. "'M fine."

"You don't sound fine." Jess lowered her voice. "Listen, Don told me what happened … I'm sorry. I wouldn't have brought it up if …"

"I know." Danny smiled weakly. "I'm okay, really."

Jess hesitated. "It wasn't your fault, you know."

Danny snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"It wasn't." Jess insisted. "How could it be your fault?"

"I let him ride ahead of me." Danny whispered, not meeting her eyes. "I told him not to go round the corner, but …"

Jess sighed. "Danny, take it from someone who's got two nephews; they _never _listen when you tell them not to go round the corner. There are hundreds of mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, baby-sitters, childminders, nannies, who will have walked that exact same road and said the exact same thing and had the exact same result." She put a hand on his arm. "It's just bad luck that _you _were there at that time and it was _Ruben_ who went round that corner."

"So you're telling me I didn't do anything wrong?" Danny asked quietly.

"No." Jess smiled softly. "There's a hundred things you could've done differently, Danny. Maybe if you'd listened to that fourteen-hour shift the day before and apologised to Ruben but told him you couldn't take him … Maybe if you'd gone home another way … Maybe if you'd kept him on a tighter leash … Maybe if you'd stayed with him … Maybe he'd still be alive. But that doesn't make it your fault."

Danny managed a small smile in return. "You think?"

Jess smiled. "Find me someone who honestly thinks this is your fault and I'll find you a child who stops at the corner when you tell them to."

* * *

A few days later, Jess found herself relaxing on her couch, the 'flaming astronaut' case closed. She preferred cases that turned out to be tragic accidents – not because it was any better to die from your own actions, but because it meant that another family wasn't torn apart; since Shane Casey, she had found herself very aware of the effect on the perpetrator's family as well as the victim's.

She wasn't surprised when there was a knock at the door, but didn't bother to move. "It's open."

"You know, you really shouldn't do that." Don informed her, walking in. "I could've been anyone."

"I knew it was you." Jess rolled her eyes, tucking her feet underneath her so he could join her on the couch.

"How was your case?" Don asked. "I take it he wasn't from outer-space."

"No, he was a luge-rider." Jess chuckled. "It's a new gravity sport. Amateur street racing's illegal."

"I didn't know that." Don commented.

Jess's grin broadened. "Neither did I. Kendall identified the board and we went down to one of these street meets to see if we could ID the vic or another rider named Mercury; the vic had part of a custom-made racing suit in his hand. Anyway, Mercury ran for it …"

"Who caught him; you or Messer?" Don interrupted.

Jess smirked. "Why chase him? Danny ran; I just kicked a garbage can in front of him."

Don laughed. "That's my girl."

Jess grinned, trying to ignore the warmth that spread through her at his words. "Yeah, so we questioned him; he insisted he didn't kill 'Demon'; that last he'd seen him, he was heading off-course."

"So why'd he run?" Don asked.

"That's what I said." Jess agreed. "That was when he kindly informed me that street-racing was illegal."

"How generous of him." Don sniggered. "I hope you thanked him properly."

"Oh, I did." Jess assured him. "On the way to the precinct."

Don grinned. "Aside from that?"

Jess sighed. "It was an accident. The rain caused gasoline to rise to the surface of the street; the luge was going so fast the water splashed onto his clothes …"

"Soaking him in accelerant." Don grimaced. "And the ignition?"

"Well, when you're going 95 mph down an unfamiliar course, there's only one thing you can do." Jess smiled sadly. "The sole of his shoe had worn down to the metal inside; he put his foot down and …"

Don winced. "Not a good way to go."

Jess shook her head. "You can say that again. How was yours?"

Don sighed. "Tell me something, Jess, and be honest here. Would you date me?"

Jess raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Why, Detective, are you asking me out?"

Don flushed slightly. "That's … not what I meant."

Jess laughed. "No, I didn't think it was. You want to elaborate?"

"Okay, our girl in the automatic restroom died because someone sabotaged it; he lost the contract." Don pulled a face. "I tell you, Jess, some people …"

"I know." Jess laid a calming hand on his arm. "What's this got to do with dating you? Wait; you said she had defence wounds, didn't you?"

Don nodded. "Yeah, she faked an attack. She was dating a guy currently serving life for murder and he sent her his blood in a ketchup packet."

"Inventive." Jess commented. "She must be pretty loyal not to believe it after trial."

Don snorted. "She didn't know him then, Jess; they met online. On ."

Jess stared at him. "Tell me you're kidding."

"I wish." Don muttered. "That's what I meant, Jess; what's wrong with guys like me?"

Jess couldn't help laughing; he was almost whining with indignation. "First of all, Don, as far as I know, you _have_ a girlfriend whether you want to or not." She smirked when he pulled another face at the dig. "Second of all, there's _nothing_ wrong with guys like you."

"Then why …?" Don began.

Jess cut him off with a sigh. "Look, Don, a lot of girls go for the bad-boy type. Don't ask me why, but that's why that website is there; there's a market. Half the women on there like the idea of a guy on the wrong side of the tracks; the other half like the idea of having to put them back together again, But I guarantee you that every single one of them, when those relationships go south, will end up sitting with their girlfriends with a bottle of wine, saying, "Why can't I just find a guy who's cute, funny, smart, mature and isn't gay or married?""

Don laughed as she dissolved into fake sobs. "So you admit that you think I'm cute?"

Jess sobered up immediately. "What? No, I was talking about Danny."

Don rolled his eyes. "Cute, Jess."

Jess chuckled. "I'm serious, Don; you can't really pull off 'cute'; it's too …" She wrinkled her nose, trying to describe it.

"Cute?" Don finished.

"I guess." Jess laughed. "I mean, kittens are cute. Babies are cute. Danny … eh, he can pull it off. You, you're hot."

Don tilted his head slightly. "Really?"

"You look surprised." Jess commented. "I'd have thought you'd be used to that, what with the number of girls that fall at your feet."

"I wasn't expecting _you_ to say it." Don admitted.

Jess leaned against the arm of the couch with a frown. "You're always telling me I'm pretty; what's the difference?"

Don shrugged. "I guess there isn't one." He continued to look at her with a slightly puzzled expression.

Jess averted her gaze. "You're not gonna get all weird on me now, are you?"

"No." Don answered. "So basically, what you're saying is that us law-abiding guys have nothing to worry about."

"No, I'm saying _you _have nothing to worry about." Jess grinned.

Don chuckled. "That's alright then." His stomach growled loudly. "You got anything to eat?"

Jess laughed. "I swear your stomach's bottomless." She pushed herself off the couch and wandered over to her fridge, rooting through it. "At the moment … not really, no. I'll call for a pizza." She grabbed the phone and dialled the number for the local pizza parlour.

It was a mark of how often she and Don did this that they now forwent pleasantries when they saw her number. _"Evening, Detective. Double pepperoni with extra cheese?"_

Jess laughed. "How'd you guess?"

"_Same address?"_

"Yes, please." Jess hung up. "We go there too often." She raised an eyebrow, seeing that Don had taken the opportunity to make himself at home, flipping the TV on and stretching out on her couch. "Comfy?"

"Very, thanks." Don smirked.

Jess briefly entertained the idea of telling him to move, but, realising it probably wouldn't work and lacking the energy to argue, she settled on just falling into his lap, eliciting a grunt.

"Jeez, Angell; at least warn a guy!" He groaned.

"You calling me fat, Flack?" Jess asked, hiding a smirk.

"Definitely not." Don rolled his eyes. "Doesn't mean you're not heavy."

"Then sit up and give me some room." Jess shot back.

Don considered that for a second, then caught her wrist, pulling her down to lie with him. "Nah, can't be bothered."

Jess just sighed and stayed in his arms, focussing on the movie that had just started playing. "_Rent_?"

"It's a good movie." Don insisted. "You ever seen it?"

Jess frowned thoughtfully. "No, I don't think so."

"Then you haven't lived." Don told her simply. "You can't live in New York and not see it. I'll take you to see it on Broadway one day."

Jess smiled as the characters began singing about not being able to pay. "I'll hold you to that."

Since his admittance that his relationship with Devon was all but over – though he had yet to actually end it – she had noticed that moments and conversations like this were becoming more and more frequent to the point that, sometimes, _she_ had trouble believing they weren't dating, never mind everyone else.

If only she could decide if that gave her hope or made her afraid of how far she was liable to fall.

* * *

**AN: Sorry about the delay on this one; I've been caught up with uni studies and my muse decided that I'd left my HP stories on the back-burner for long enough, so I did some work there. And then my choir started learning a RENT medley and I finally listened to the soundtrack to learn the songs and … spent the last week stuck in a RENT-induced stupor – if you haven't heard it/watched it, for the love of all that is good, go and do it.**

**On a side note, did anyone else find Flack's reaction to really funny - like it'd threaten him!**

**Review please!**


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